One AI-proof job: protecting the data centers behind the boom.
Safeguarding the sprawling facilities that power AI models and cloud computing is creating demand for engineers to build the technology, as well as for workers who guard those facilities.
Job postings that mention “physical security” and “data centers” have nearly quadrupled since early 2020, according to Indeed data.
As tech companies pour billions into AI infrastructure, data centers are becoming as critical to the economy as utilities and airports, said Eddie Sorrells, CEO of DSI Security Services, a firm based in Dothan, Alabama.
The push to hire security workers is occurring as data centers become more visible — and sometimes more contentious — across the US.
Facing more threats
In a March Gallup survey of US adults, seven in 10 respondents said they opposed building AI data centers nearby.
Opponents of these facilities have raised concerns about the energy, water, and land they consume, as well as the noise.
A Business Insider investigation identified 1,240 data centers in the US that had been built or approved by the end of 2024.
The hardening political environment is one reason security work at data centers is more complex than when Sorrells started his career about 35 years ago. Back then, he said, the main concerns were things like trespassing and theft.
Now, he said, data centers face a broader array of threats, and guarding against them, in addition to well-trained security teams, can involve the use of remote video monitoring, robotics, and drones.
“It’s not just going around shaking doors anymore,” Sorrells said.
Security operations also increasingly rely on AI-powered tools themselves. Yet, ultimately, people are still essential, said ASIS International, an association for security professionals working at the intersection of facility security and cybersecurity.
“Even with the latest and greatest tools in place, there must still be a human element involved to ensure that the technology can be effective and is well-maintained,” the organization wrote in its “Security Management” magazine in September.
A range of jobs
Demand for security specialists is rising alongside a broader data-center hiring boom. Postings for data center jobs jumped 23% in 2025, LinkedIn reported.
A recent job listing for a senior data center security site evaluation program manager at the cloud computing company CoreWeave required at least five years of experience in physical security program management.
The job includes evaluating sites, setting security standards, monitoring threats, and helping protect facilities as they expand. The listing featured fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid parental leave, and catered lunch every day.
CoreWeave listed the base salary range as $143,000 to $191,000.
Not all security jobs are as lucrative.
A posting for a data center physical security specialist at an Amazon facility in Oregon involves managing security vendors and training workers. The job, which requires at least a year of experience overseeing security operations, pays $24 to $42 an hour, or about $50,000 to $87,000 a year.
‘A lot more complexity’
LinkedIn has called data centers “the factories of the AI era,” though many dwarf traditional manufacturing sites.
A huge data center involving “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary in Utah would encompass 40,000 acres over multiple sites. The project’s size is more than twice the area of Manhattan and would consume more electricity than the rest of Utah uses.
Data centers’ titanic scale often makes them harder to secure, said Kathy Lavinder, founder and executive director of SI Placement, a recruiting firm focused on physical and corporate security.
Beyond their size, these centers also “have a lot more complexity” than other large installations, such as distribution centers and warehouses, she said.
That’s one reason, Lavinder said, that so many of the physical security roles are technical.
“This is not a security generalist position,” she said.
An array of threats
The threats against data centers can include industrial espionage, drone incursions, civil unrest, and activism, Sorrells said.
Insider threats are also a possibility. As contractors and construction crews cycle through sites, the number of people with access increases, he said.
Where data centers go also matters, Sorrells said. A center in an urban area might not create the same amount of backlash, he said, as one in a rural setting that might not have sufficient infrastructure to support the demand on resources.
Last week, in New Hampshire, a developer withdrew an application to build a data center after a public outcry. A petition opposing the proposal listed more than 25,000 signatures — about five times the town’s population.
Overall, Lavinder said, the growth of data centers means demand for security workers isn’t likely to fade.
“This is not a blip,” she said.
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